Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 17

The spring rain intensified during the night.

The pattering of the rain quietly nourished the soil in the silent night. The cool moisture mixed with the misty white vapor in the mountains, ponds, and fields, making the green more vivid and the tender leaves even more vibrant.

By dawn, the rain had stopped, but the sky was still overcast.

Song Sancheng brought in some firewood from outside and stoked the stove, making the fire burn brighter. He clapped his hands and asked, “What’s for breakfast today?”

After being busy for several days, they finally had some free time last night and today. Wu Lan had been sleeping well lately, feeling refreshed and in a great mood.

“Let’s have dumplings. The shepherd’s purse from last night is so fresh.”

The bright green shepherd’s purse was finely chopped and mixed with slightly grainy minced meat, wrapped in soft dough, and then dipped in vinegar sauce…

Delicious.

So delicious that it made you want to swallow your tongue.

Song Sancheng ate two big bowls in one go.

Qiao Qiao ate nearly three small bowls, then drank half a bowl of dumpling soup. “Mom, this is so good!”

The saying “a growing boy eats his parents out of house and home” was no joke. Wu Lan had thought there would be leftovers to freeze for breakfast, but everyone’s appetite had increased, and they finished it all in one meal.

Except for Song Tan.

Though the dumplings were delicious, she could taste the impurities. Eating them felt like eating a bowl of fragrant rice mixed with sand.

Every time she ate, she vowed to grow her own pure grains.

Wu Lan noticed her still slender figure and asked in confusion, “Did you starve yourself at work? You’ve been working hard every day, yet you don’t seem to have much of an appetite.”

Song Tan thought: It wasn’t that her stomach was bad, she was just picky.

But if she started being choosy about wild vegetables, her mom would probably roll her eyes and say, “You’re just spoiled from eating too much good food.”

So she changed the topic, “Wasn’t the wild vegetable delicious yesterday? It’ll taste even better after this rain!”

Were wild vegetables delicious?

Of course they were!

That bunch of green and red-stemmed Indian Kalimeris was blanched and chopped, then mixed with minced meat.

Then, beat a duck egg with some cooking wine, salt, and MSG, and fry it into thin strips.

Next, sauté some chopped green onion and ginger, then add the minced meat, Indian Kalimeris, and egg strips…

Crispy, fragrant, and refreshing. How could it not be delicious?

The remaining watercress was blanched, seasoned with salt and MSG, and mixed well.

Then, slowly sauté some peppercorns in oil until fragrant, and make a sauce with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, MSG, peppercorn oil, chili flakes, and chopped green onions. Mix this sauce with the blanched watercress…

Slurp!

Crisp and tender, spicy and aromatic.

With wild onion crucian carp soup and scrambled eggs, the family of four polished off the basket of wild vegetables from yesterday.

After getting full, they made shepherd’s purse dumplings.

Now just thinking about it made their mouths water.

Yesterday’s wild vegetables were so good. With the spiritual energy’s boost, today’s wild vegetables should taste even better, right?

Song Tan thought about her first business venture, “Mom, how much should I sell them for per pound tomorrow?”

Even though it was early March and the Awakening of Insects had passed, fresh greens were still scarce. The lettuce was bitter, the black cabbage had aged, and the yellow heart cabbage was not sweet. Even greenhouse vegetables at the supermarket cost ten to twenty yuan per pound.

Wu Lan, who managed the household finances meticulously but had zero experience selling wild vegetables, thought for a moment and suggested, “How about ten yuan per pound?”

No particular reason, just for easy calculation.

This price was actually quite reasonable for the current greens market, but since it was wild vegetables, Wu Lan still felt a bit uncertain despite knowing city folks loved them. Childhood experiences had ingrained in her a certain disregard.

So even this price was suggested with little confidence.

Song Tan thought about it and agreed, ten yuan would be fine.

Wild vegetables shrink when cooked. What looks like a large bunch would become a small pile after blanching. She believed in the quality enhanced by spiritual energy, but for her first business, she needed to let people taste it and decide for the future.

“Alright, ten yuan it is!”

Song Sancheng then suggested, “The shepherd’s purse this year is really good. How about making more dumplings to freeze? Once we start inoculating spores in a few days, we’ll be too busy to cook properly.”

They planned to start preparing the mushroom spores in a few days. Song Sancheng suggested hiring some elderly villagers for this task since it didn’t need to be done quickly.

“They’re older, so they might work slower, but don’t mind them, Tan Tan… There are only a few households left in the village, and the elderly just sit around dazed and napping. It’s sad to see them like that.”

“So let’s call them over. We won’t mention money, just let them work slowly. When we’re done, we’ll buy some meat and help them take it home. If there’s anything else, we’ll lend a hand. Grandpa and Grandma can supervise while we work… What do you think?”

Of course, it was a great idea!

How could it not be?

Song Tan readily agreed.

Firstly, the black fungus and silver fungus weren’t urgent… They hadn’t even set up the outer nets yet!

Secondly, they were all villagers. Who else would they hire? Her grandparents had become more despondent over the years. Having something to do was better than being idle.

However…

Song Tan glanced at their yard filled with motorcycles and flower beds, “Our yard is a bit small.”

Inoculating spores involved inserting the spores into pre-drilled holes in Chinese sweet gum logs. The logs were long and heavy, and while they could fit in the yard, it would be inconvenient to move around.

Song Sancheng thought for a moment, “I’ll talk to your Grandpa later and put them in his yard. It’s spacious there. Grandma can cook, and Mom can help… There are only eight or nine elderly villagers, they don’t eat much, and we can bring our own rice, flour, and vegetables.”

The family of four discussed and felt everything was well-planned (Qiao Qiao hummed in agreement). Seeing it was almost nine o’clock, Song Tan hurriedly called Qiao Qiao:

“Let’s go, bring a big basket and dig some shepherd’s purse!”

And check how much wild vegetables had grown from yesterday’s spiritual energy boost.

Climbing the hillside with familiar ease, Qiao Qiao was amazed.

He opened his mouth, “Wow!”

“Sister, it’s so green!”

Indeed, it was lush green!

Wild onions grew in clumps, thick like layers of hair, covering the entire edge of the hillside.

The Indian Kalimeris, which barely filled a plate yesterday, now burst with green heads, their blue and red stems crowding together, afraid someone might not grab a plateful.

The shepherd’s purse… even denser, growing in every crevice, with leaves so tender they seemed almost juicy.

The strong fragrance of fresh grass filled the air even before they started picking.

The stark contrast with the neighboring trees, which had just sprouted green buds, was striking.

Although Song Tan had expected this and was confident, she still felt dazed as she and Qiao Qiao dug a basket of fresh shepherd’s purse to take home.

On the way back, they stopped by the pond.

Wonderful.

The watercress and purslane grew densely, occupying the area like they were on steroids. The ground and water surface were almost invisible!

She suppressed her inner joy—

These vegetables were truly giving face to the spiritual energy!

No more for today!

Early spring greens are indeed expensive, especially around the New Year.

Recipes referenced from “New and Special Mountain Vegetables.”

Writing this at mealtime is particularly effective, making my mouth water.

Most wild vegetables have a strong grassy taste, and they shouldn’t be cooked too lightly; otherwise, they don’t taste good.

Of course, it also depends on cooking skills…

Selling vegetables officially starts tomorrow!